
Pretend prospects – How to weed them out early on
Not everyone who views a property intends to buy it. On the one hand, there are the so-called viewing tourists: people who enjoy viewing properties in their free time. On the other hand, there are also interested parties who are very serious about buying but lack the purchasing power or creditworthiness. This is a major annoyance for you as the seller, as it delays the sale of your property. Even with a trained eye, it is difficult to identify the different types of pseudo-interested parties. However, there are a few tricks you can use to filter out the serious prospects in a meaningful way.
Prospective buyers should know what to expect—a detailed property description will ensure this.
An excellent property description is extremely useful when searching for qualified prospective buyers. The more questions the property description answers, the easier it is for prospective buyers to decide whether the property meets their wishes and needs. If, on the other hand, the photos and descriptions in the exposé give a false – or only a very inaccurate – impression, you will often hear the phrase "That's not what I imagined" during viewings.
360-degree tours offer an opportunity to learn more about the prospective buyer. This is because the activities of individual prospective buyers can be recorded during such a virtual tour. For example, only one room, such as the living room, can be unlocked for all prospective buyers at first. Those who want to take a tour of the entire property must unlock the other rooms by entering their email address. Sightseeing tourists usually do not want to do this. The intensity with which a prospective buyer views the individual rooms also provides information about how interested they are in the property.
With a few questions and tricks, you can expose fake prospects
With the help of the email address, you can also gain an impression of how serious a prospective buyer is about your property by asking clarifying questions. For example, ask what their dream property looks like, how long they have been looking, and whether they already have financing in place. The clearer the answers, the clearer the interest. Professional real estate agents can also get a feel for the prospective buyer during a phone call and determine whether they are a suitable buyer.
And here's another little tip for a trial balloon: since sightseeing tourists like to do their hobby on their days off, they prefer appointments on weekends. They rarely take time during the week. It's different with serious prospective buyers. They also make time for a viewing appointment during the week. So if you don't offer appointments on weekends, sightseeing tourists often drop out.
Thanks to their many years of experience, professional real estate agents have developed a feel for who is seriously interested and who is not. But they also know that, when in doubt, it is better to show the house to a sightseer than to lose a buyer.
Don't want to waste your time with people who aren't really interested? We can help you identify genuine prospective buyers.
Further information:
- de.statista: Real estate
- Wikipedia: Exposé real estate
- destatis.de: Construction prices Real estate price index
Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice in individual cases. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your specific case.
Photo: mast3r/depositphotos.com